Saturday, November 29, 2014

Taipei Throwback: Taipei 101 & Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

From all the previous posts on Taipei, you could see that we covered many attractions on Day 1 whether they were planned or accidental stumbles. After having walked far too much on Day 1, we spent the rest of our days in Taipei in a more relaxed manner. Whenever it rained, we continued sleeping in or simply whiled the time away watching cable TV till we were ready to go out.

Going to Taipei 101 (台北101) was decided on Day 2 after having seen the weather forecast that it was cloudy that day and that the rest of our days in Taipei would be rainy. There was no point in being atop of Taipei on a rainy day when visibility wouldn't be clear, right?

~*Breakfast Next Door*~

We continued to utilize our breakfast coupons that day. As usual, these bread weren't filling. They simply prevented us from being too hungry while waiting out the rain.

~*Along the Way*~

A blood donation van? What an interesting concept!

To the Metro we went coz we wouldn't want to do a walking trail again.

~*At Taipei 101*~

When we emerged from the underground station, this massive glass building greeted us. So that's how Taipei 101 looked like when standing at the foot of it.

There was practically no queue to the Observatory at all which surprised us as we often hear and read about how long the queue would be.

While in the queue, we saw this on the screen and took a shot since we would not be buying those ridiculously-priced photo holder souvenir.

The lift to the Taipei 101 observatory tower holds a Guinness World record of being the fastest ascending elevator speed: designed to be 1 010 meters per minute or 16.83 m/s or 55.22 ft/s or 60.6 kilometres per hour or 37.7 mph.

If all these units of conversion doesn't help in understanding how fast that is, how about a mere 40 seconds to get from ground level to the 89th-floor observation deck? (Damn... I take a lot more than that to get to my office level on the 18th floor.)

I found this video on YouTube. Experience how being in the world's fastest lift feels like in this video!

The lift boy spoke fluently in Mandarin, Japanese and English as he gave an introduction of the lift. We were impressed by his fluency. As the lift got higher, constellations illuminated the dark ceiling. What a pretty sight! As we walked out of the lift door, the lift boy bade us goodbye in Japanese. (We are not Japanese x1)

Taipei 101 Damper Baby welcomed us to the Indoor Observatory deck on the 89th floor. The staff who helped us take this photo is so pretty. Why do so many Taiwanese ladies look like celebrities? Aside: She spoke to us in Japanese even though we first spoke to her in Mandarin. (We are not Japanese x2)

Walking to the glass panels with 360-degree views, we decided that we were in dire need of an audio guide. The kindly old "uncle" who was helping tourists with audio guides saw like we really needed one and spoke to us in Japanese. He also handed us Japanese audio guides to which we told him in Mandarin that we needed the English ones. For a split second, he gathered his thoughts before apologizing and handing out the English ones to us. (We are not Japanese x3) That was three times within a span of 10 minutes that people assumed we were Japanese. And I thought this only happens in western countries where the Caucasians couldn't tell East Asians apart. We are proud to be SINGAPOREANS.

Trying to act cool with the audio guide by pretending I was living in the 80s and owned a handphone. Anyone remembers those colossal handphones from the 80s?

When I was looking at the whole of Taipei city from atop the observatory, I felt that going to Taipei 101 is probably the most practical first stop of anyone's first visit to Taipei. From the viewing lounge, you could see almost all of Taipei as you stroll around the glass panels with 360-degree view and get a sense for where everything is in the city.

The viewing lounge itself is like a mini museum depicting facts and history of Taipei, as well as of the construction of Taipei 101.

There are big touch screens facing the north, south, east and west that have time lapses of the view outside with floating buttons of all major points of interest.

Together with the touch screen guide and audio guide, the view from the observatory is excellent for developing a mental map of the whole of Taipei city.

I hate it when I take pictures of things I found significant at the time of snapping, went home, and forgot why I took those pictures. I've got so many other pictures that even after researching on Google Maps, I still can't tell which landmarks I was capturing in those photos. I remember the audio guide pointing out the significance of the 2 to 3 arch bridges you see in the far distance of this photo. It was so difficult to Google the name of these bridges but I reckon they are the Rainbow Bridge, Maishuaiyi Bridge and Maishuaier Bridge. I know that one of these bridges is really beautiful by night illuminated with neon rainbow lights.

The most prominent sights are the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國立國父紀念館) and the Taipei Arena (臺北小巨蛋) which is still undergoing construction.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall would be our next stop after Taipei 101.

Looking to the right and further down are the Discovery Center of Taipei in Taipei CIty Hall and the Taipei World Trade Centre Exhibition Hall 3.

Guess what is circled in here? Clue: We visited this place the day before.

Zoomed in: It's the whole Liberty Square (自由廣場) area. The orange roof of the National Theater and National Concert Hall are prominent enough for us to catch only with the help of the touch screen guide and zooming the lens to the max.

Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai overtook it. However, the skyscraper remains a symbol of technology innovation designed to withstand natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes. This gigantic gold-coloured damper is responsible for keeping the building stable through typhoons and earthquakes.

I don't know how the Damper Baby stems from the Damper and only after reading up did I know that the damper has become such a tourist attraction, that the city has given it a mascot, the Damper Baby. It even has its own damper website which is really cute.

Only the hub can do something so dumb with the Taipei 101 Damper Baby mascot. 101, 101, 101.

We proceeded from the 89th floor to to the Outdoor Observatory Deck on the 91st floor which is only opened on some occasions, weather permitting.

Then what's on the 90th floor? It's probably not accessible by us.

Here's what I got from Wikipedia:

101st floor

Summit 101 (Private VIP Club)

92nd – 100th floor

Communication Floors

91st floor

Outdoor Observatory Deck

88th – 89th floor

Indoor Observatory Deck

85th – 86th floor

Observatory Restaurant

59th – 84th floor

High Zone Office Floor

59th – 60th floor

Sky lobbies Floors

35th – 58th floor

Mid Zone Office Floor

36th floor

Taipei 101 Conference Center

35th – 36th floor

Sky lobbies Floors

35th floor

Amenities Floor

9th – 34th floor

Low Zone Office Center

B1st – 5th floor

Taipei 101 Mall

B5th - B2nd floor

Parking Levels

It was so cold on the outdoor deck! Fortunately we had our jackets with us.

Mirror wefie. Hubz said he should copy the way I stand.

We sought refuge from the cold by watching a film on the construction of Taipei 101. Did you know that Taipei 101 is The World’s Tallest Green Building? TAIPEI 101 successfully attain the LEED-EBOM Platinum level certification, making it the world’s tallest Green Building in the world. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most internationally recognized Green Building rating system. I'm always impressed when huge organizations do their part to be eco-friendly. Know more about their green program in this Taipei 101 Green On interactive website.

There were exquisite exhibits on display and on sale.

While we needn't queue to get up to the observatory, we had to queue to get down! Crowd aside, I took this photo with the sole purpose of trying to snap a front view of a pretty East Asian girl to no avail. The girl sporting short golden hair looked just like a life-sized doll! Huge peepers with fan-like lashes, chiselled pixie face, smooth and slightly tanned skin. The kind of pretty I like!

I wonder if the Taipei City Hall is like our Singapore City Hall.

Taipei 101 had been enriching. Our next stop was to have "dunch", "linner" ... whatever... late lunch/ early dinner. Where else better to have mala hotpot (麻辣火鍋) than Taipei? 醉麻辣 was recommended by my friend and that place so happened to be along the area of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. More on our meal in the next post. So anyway this picture shows a curious-looking stream. We couldn't decide what is was and why it was there.

The memorial hall contains displays of Sun Yat Sen's life and the revolution he led, and is also a multi-purpose social, educational and cultural center for the public. Taiwan's highest movie award ceremony, the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, is held annually in the Memorial Hall Auditorium.

The park surrounding the hall is named Zhongshan Park, as the Chinese name for Dr Sun Yat Sen is Sun Zhongshan (孫中山). It is a popular area for families to hang out as their kids could roam freely.

There was a charity bazaar that day. If I'm reading the words correctly, it is an awareness event for autism.

We did not visit the memorial hall and simply strolled through the park as all we wanted to do was to eat. I was attracted to the beautiful flowers though and could not help snapping this.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of Day 2 with our food adventures for the night. Yummy yummy. I'm hungry just thinking about it. I've replied to all your comments so do check back on the posts. In the meantime, please keep the love notes coming in!

51 comments:

Hi Jo! Following your trip is like knowing Taipei in some way. I laughed a bit as first (when I met you first time last year), I thought u were Japanese as well! Btw, Taipei 101 impressed me a lot, the lift is so fast, have watched also the video. Actually, I avoid to take lifts as I fear lol so for me would have been a problem! The Observatory is outstanding and also a romantic place. The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall is great as well. Oh, seem the next post will be so greedy!:) Happy weekend Jo! xo

Hey Lilli. I laughed when I saw that you also thought I was Japanese. This is just too funny and I had to tell my hubz about what you said. You fear lift because you have claustrophobia? I do not personally know anybody with claustrophobia. What would happen to you if you're in a lift?

Oh, is like my heart beat slower and feeling crushed by the little space around! Also happens when Im in a square and there are too many people, as at this time of the year when the streets are so crowdy! But I still love the mall lol!:P xo

That's interesting to hear that even in crowded squares you feel this way. But of coz it is not nice that you suffer from this condition and I hope you would be able to go to where there are less people and still enjoy the holiday season!

I have been to Taipei, well, I was in the airport during our transit to Vancouver. LOL! Looks like a really lovely city to visit and how cool is it to ride that lift? I also love the concept of Taipei 101, we do need more green building these days and it's such a great experience that you manage to visit it.

Ah yes, Taipei is often a stopover for long haul flights. I agree with you about having more green buildings, especially if they are big they could really help save lots of energy if they do their part.

"We are NOT Japanese!" LOL I couldn't stop laughing Jo! You are so funny! That observatory is super tall! And wow, many of the buildings are glass. I get so woozy with tall buildings. I wouldn't be able to look down. You remembered a lot of the buildings! I'm impressed. I would probably write things down, but forget what building it was. Your posts always do a great job explaining wherever you go. Oh and I don't blame you for not paying for those pricey pics.http://www.averysweetblog.com/

Hahaha... The fact that people thought so also amused us greatly, Kim. It was fun to be mistaken at times by fellow east Asians. I have a strange thing about heights. I'm totally not afraid of heights if whatever below me is the outdoors. However, in a shopping mall with glass panels, I can't even stand looking down at indoor places when it's just 3 stories high. I get very uncomfortable and would grab the handrails really tightly. I can't remember a lot but as I edit my photos and craft my posts, I do some googling and I'm always glad to relive the moments and learn at the same time while doing my posts.

Looks like you guys had an amazing time! I have never been to Asia, but I'm sure I would really enjoy it. I'm making a list of places and countries to visit and Taipei definitely sounds like a city to see!

Ah yes, the 90th floor. That level actually houses my local Batcave. Next time you are there ask for Alfred and they will set you up with a special tour. I honestly thought it was funny that it claimed to be the world's tallest green building because I thought it referred to the color not the eco stuff. Made me want to build the world's largest taupe building :) I like your giant 80's phone and those shots of you with are so beautiful. Such a gorgeous lady you are, dear!

Please to make your acquaintance, Batman. You are one of my favourite superheroes coz you're not born with super powers and your gadgets are just so cool. Hmm... No wonder I thought I heard footsteps shuffling when I knocked on the wall of the 90th floor! Alfred must have been unsure if I were your friend.

This looks like super fun!And haha omg, those old handphones - I sort of remember them!! I definitely was too young to have one but I remember how big and bricky they were :P Also cannot believe there are 90 floors v.v what even !

Taipei 101 is probably one of those must see sights for anyone visting Taipei. Thanks for sharing your experience touring it with us. The views are truly spectacular and I did not know it was a green building. So odd that the you and hubby were mistaken as Japanese by a few people in such a short amount of time. Usually Asians are more astute about identifying other Asians.

Hello Rowena. Always glad to know that there more green buildings around. In particular those big ones could really help save lots of energy if they do their part. You're so right. Usually East Asians are sharper in discerning fellow East Asians apart not only from their look and dressing but from the way they carry themselves and also the language they speak. Moreover, Singaporean tourists are a common sight in Taipei that it is strange not to be able to tell which country we belong to from all the characteristics I've listed up there.

That view is certainly worth the 40 second ride. :). I'm sure kh didn't care about seeing the blond girl. He's already found his girl.About the mistaken ethnicity, I bet most Asians can't tell the Dutch from the Germans from the Polish. :D

Ooh... we were "people watching" together and so we were both watching her together. Hahaha... If Asians can't tell the Caucasians apart, I think it is understandable but usually we East Asians (we are actually South-east Asian since Singapore is in the S.E.A region but by ethinicity, Chinese is East Asians) are more astute to telling one East Asian apart from another as we roughly could gather evidence like features, behaviour, cultural mannerism and language. Hence, for the Taiwanese Chinese to mistake us for Japanese is quite strange.

Wow, I haven't even heard of Taipei 101! How cool it is the tallest green building in the world! I have seen Burj Khalifa on photos and yes, it's very tall! But you are such a lucky to go to the 2nd one (1st one in the past)! Sorry to hear that they thought you are Japanese 3 times! I know what it feels like. Every time someone asks me where am I from, they are like "Russia?". Well, once a guy from Canada knew about my country and even about its history. I was impressed. Anyway, don't be mad at people's stupidity! I saw the video, haha, the elevator is fast indeed. It probably takes faster to the 101st floor than to the 7th in my workplace, haha. The view is breath taking; those kind of photos are my favourite! You two look so cute, as usual. I'm sure you had lots of fun in Taipei!

Ah no worries, dear. We were more of amused to be mistaken by so many people actually. My friends always think it is a compliment to be mistaken as a Japanese coz they are generally more dressed up and good-looking as compared to all the East Asians if we were to generalize. Lol! It simply tickles us though. I hope you don't feel offended when people mistake you for being a Russian. I always hear the term "Russian dolls" (not those matryoshka) to describe those dangerous beautiful women so maybe look at the bright side of it? =)

I would love to visit Taipai 101! I was always fascinated by skyscrapers...and this one is a must see. I'm not exactly an expert on arhitecture, but I love to read about it...and I think I have a decent eye when it comes to it. One I spotted a house (amoung many others that were much bigger but not as elegant) and commented how perfect it was only to be told it won somekind of national award for best house ever or something like that...its owner is a well known arhitect. I think one of my cousins went to work in Tailand as an arhitect and she never came back because she liked it there....

I know what you mean when it comes to snapping photos....the same happened to me when I visited Rome...I had to research to see what was what...and often I still had no idea what painting it was or even what church....

Funny you were mistaken for Japanese 3 times in a short amount of time...maybe the camera was to blame? Usually people have this mental image of Japanese in their mind of a turist taking many photos or filming everything:)

The wefie of you and yor hubby is adorable...and it reminds me of one me and my hubbie took while having a walk in the University campus in my hometown.

Hahaha... You're hilarious about the mental image of Japanese, Ivana! I laughed out loud coz that really was such a true generalization in the past! It seems like this image has taken over many Asians too.

You have a sharp eye for detail and usually people with a creative mind would have that!

As for your question below. I can't remember whether that dress was on display or on sale. The memory lapse. =)

Hello doll, This looks amazing!! I never seen it before, but I would like to go now :))) Loved all the pictures and things too. I enjoyed seeing it from your point of view :) I hope you have a wonderful new week doll...Happy 1st of December xx

Wows Jo you have a set of eyes on you! I love how you circled and pointed out so many landmarks and attractions from that view. Holy smokes, I can see you now like some kind of ninja or "where's wally" finder pointing your fingers at spots and naming them within seconds! And that elevator, that's pretty fast. I can't imagine riding that without feeling physically sick lol. But I suppose it would be lined and padded so you wouldn't actually feel motion though. Interesting post and trip, I feel like I've learned so much more about Taipei!

The analogy of the ninja and Where's Wally really got me laughing. I'm far from that. As I was looking through the many many views of the city captured in 20 over photos in various states of zooms and angles, I was so confused what I was snapping. I took some time Googling before choosing the pictures to feature coz I didn't wanna feature all of them and clutter the space. Haha.. so there you go, fake ninja! The lift ride was ok. We could feel ourselves ascending but no sick feeling at all.

It's fun to read about your experience with the photos and narration alongside. At first when I realized you would be travelling up a tall building I thought it may be too frightening for me as I'm afraid of heights but after seeing the photographs, it really seems like something I would want to do! It's amazing when you can be so high up and have such a spectacular view. I've only been able to do such things a few times in my life but I've enjoyed them all very much. Looking up from the bottom must have felt so surreal, I remember being like 'Whoa' when I stood at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. That video was so crazy, I can't believe the elevator is that fast, who knows what they'll be doing next. The list of tall buildings, from what I saw, didn't include my country's building! We have the CN Tower which stands at 553 m (can you tell I'm proud to be Canadian? Haha).

Reply: Ironically enough I'm hungry once again while commenting, haha. I think that after I press 'publish' I'll be going to buy some poutine from a place nearby. They don't have a location (that sells vegetarian poutine) that's close to me when I'm back home so I'm trying to have it one last time before returning. His cat sounds like a troublemaker, oh my god LOL! I looked up a bakery this week and... tried my first macaron(s)! I love them so much, if only they weren't so expensive -insert crying emoji here-!!

I was quite unclear about the "Tallest XXX" list and realised that there are tallest towers, tallest skyscapers, tallest freestanding structure. Now I understand why the list could differ! I thought how could such factual information on Wikipedia differs from the list I saw in Taipei 101.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures_in_the_worldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_towers_in_the_world

It is very funny coz comedy sitcoms like How I met Your Mother would often depict how funny it is when the Canadian character is proud of her country. To me, I don't think Americans are in any way more superior than Canadians and often wonder when I watch Hollywood movies.

I'm so glad you tried macaroons! They are expensive coz it is said that they are difficult to perfect. I googled Poutine and wow... looks so yummy! I'm hungry now!

Hi Jo! Sorry it's been a while since I visited your blog but I'm here now! I've been to TP before and your pics totally reminded me of my time there since we literally went to the exact same spots ^.^ It was such a fun experience with a not-so-fun partner tho =/ Still loving your pics it bring back memories!!!

Hey Kerina! So glad to "see" you here even though we "see" each other on IG every day! Thanx for dropping by and hope to see you around more often! Lol.. How could your partner be not fun? He takes such fabulous pictures of you! Whenever I asked my hubby take a pic of me esp outfits or things he deems bimbotic and silly, he would go grouchy. But when he has the mood, he would snap quite some great candid shots.

I've never been in Taipei. This skyscraper is very high !!! I would be very afraid. It looks like a beautiful city. I hope one day to visit it. Have a nice day, kisses (and thank you for your visit), Eni

There's so, so much to admire in this post! The 'Breakfast Next Door' concept is fantastic and the colours that comprise of the floral arrangement at the end of this post are so beautiful.. they remind me of some of my happiest memories made on previous summer trips abroad!! :) Have a lovely weekend, Jo!

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